diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index d4dc7b6..b9c4351 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -19,15 +19,15 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "alloc-no-stdlib"
-version = "2.0.3"
+version = "2.0.4"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "35ef4730490ad1c4eae5c4325b2a95f521d023e5c885853ff7aca0a6a1631db3"
+checksum = "cc7bb162ec39d46ab1ca8c77bf72e890535becd1751bb45f64c597edb4c8c6b3"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "alloc-stdlib"
-version = "0.2.1"
+version = "0.2.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "697ed7edc0f1711de49ce108c541623a0af97c6c60b2f6e2b65229847ac843c2"
+checksum = "94fb8275041c72129eb51b7d0322c29b8387a0386127718b096429201a5d6ece"
 dependencies = [
  "alloc-no-stdlib",
 ]
@@ -206,9 +206,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "clap"
-version = "3.2.20"
+version = "3.2.21"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "23b71c3ce99b7611011217b366d923f1d0a7e07a92bb2dbf1e84508c673ca3bd"
+checksum = "1ed5341b2301a26ab80be5cbdced622e80ed808483c52e45e3310a877d3b37d7"
 dependencies = [
  "atty",
  "bitflags",
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "2e4b6aa369f41f5faa04bb80c9b1f4216ea81646ed6124d76ba5c49a7aafd9cd"
 dependencies = [
  "cookie",
- "idna",
+ "idna 0.2.3",
  "log",
  "publicsuffix",
  "serde",
@@ -393,11 +393,10 @@ checksum = "3f9eec918d3f24069decb9af1554cad7c880e2da24a9afd88aca000531ab82c1"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "form_urlencoded"
-version = "1.0.1"
+version = "1.1.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "5fc25a87fa4fd2094bffb06925852034d90a17f0d1e05197d4956d3555752191"
+checksum = "a9c384f161156f5260c24a097c56119f9be8c798586aecc13afbcbe7b7e26bf8"
 dependencies = [
- "matches",
  "percent-encoding",
 ]
 
@@ -694,9 +693,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "iana-time-zone"
-version = "0.1.47"
+version = "0.1.48"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "4c495f162af0bf17656d0014a0eded5f3cd2f365fdd204548c2869db89359dc7"
+checksum = "237a0714f28b1ee39ccec0770ccb544eb02c9ef2c82bb096230eefcffa6468b0"
 dependencies = [
  "android_system_properties",
  "core-foundation-sys",
@@ -717,6 +716,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "unicode-normalization",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "idna"
+version = "0.3.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "e14ddfc70884202db2244c223200c204c2bda1bc6e0998d11b5e024d657209e6"
+dependencies = [
+ "unicode-bidi",
+ "unicode-normalization",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "ignore"
 version = "0.4.18"
@@ -777,9 +786,9 @@ checksum = "6c8af84674fe1f223a982c933a0ee1086ac4d4052aa0fb8060c12c6ad838e754"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "js-sys"
-version = "0.3.59"
+version = "0.3.60"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "258451ab10b34f8af53416d1fdab72c22e805f0c92a1136d59470ec0b11138b2"
+checksum = "49409df3e3bf0856b916e2ceaca09ee28e6871cf7d9ce97a692cacfdb2a25a47"
 dependencies = [
  "wasm-bindgen",
 ]
@@ -884,9 +893,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "miniz_oxide"
-version = "0.5.3"
+version = "0.5.4"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "6f5c75688da582b8ffc1f1799e9db273f32133c49e048f614d22ec3256773ccc"
+checksum = "96590ba8f175222643a85693f33d26e9c8a015f599c216509b1a6894af675d34"
 dependencies = [
  "adler",
 ]
@@ -1008,15 +1017,15 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "percent-encoding"
-version = "2.1.0"
+version = "2.2.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "d4fd5641d01c8f18a23da7b6fe29298ff4b55afcccdf78973b24cf3175fee32e"
+checksum = "478c572c3d73181ff3c2539045f6eb99e5491218eae919370993b890cdbdd98e"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "pest"
-version = "2.3.0"
+version = "2.3.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "4b0560d531d1febc25a3c9398a62a71256c0178f2e3443baedd9ad4bb8c9deb4"
+checksum = "cb779fcf4bb850fbbb0edc96ff6cf34fd90c4b1a112ce042653280d9a7364048"
 dependencies = [
  "thiserror",
  "ucd-trie",
@@ -1024,9 +1033,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "pest_derive"
-version = "2.3.0"
+version = "2.3.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "905708f7f674518498c1f8d644481440f476d39ca6ecae83319bba7c6c12da91"
+checksum = "502b62a6d0245378b04ffe0a7fb4f4419a4815fce813bd8a0ec89a56e07d67b1"
 dependencies = [
  "pest",
  "pest_generator",
@@ -1034,9 +1043,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "pest_generator"
-version = "2.3.0"
+version = "2.3.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "5803d8284a629cc999094ecd630f55e91b561a1d1ba75e233b00ae13b91a69ad"
+checksum = "451e629bf49b750254da26132f1a5a9d11fd8a95a3df51d15c4abd1ba154cb6c"
 dependencies = [
  "pest",
  "pest_meta",
@@ -1047,13 +1056,13 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "pest_meta"
-version = "2.3.0"
+version = "2.3.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "1538eb784f07615c6d9a8ab061089c6c54a344c5b4301db51990ca1c241e8c04"
+checksum = "bcec162c71c45e269dfc3fc2916eaeb97feab22993a21bcce4721d08cd7801a6"
 dependencies = [
  "once_cell",
  "pest",
- "sha-1",
+ "sha1",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1175,7 +1184,7 @@ version = "2.2.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "aeeedb0b429dc462f30ad27ef3de97058b060016f47790c066757be38ef792b4"
 dependencies = [
- "idna",
+ "idna 0.2.3",
  "psl-types",
 ]
 
@@ -1231,7 +1240,7 @@ checksum = "34af8d1a0e25924bc5b7c43c079c942339d8f0a8b57c39049bef581b46327404"
 dependencies = [
  "libc",
  "rand_chacha",
- "rand_core 0.6.3",
+ "rand_core 0.6.4",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1241,7 +1250,7 @@ source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "e6c10a63a0fa32252be49d21e7709d4d4baf8d231c2dbce1eaa8141b9b127d88"
 dependencies = [
  "ppv-lite86",
- "rand_core 0.6.3",
+ "rand_core 0.6.4",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -1261,18 +1270,18 @@ checksum = "9c33a3c44ca05fa6f1807d8e6743f3824e8509beca625669633be0acbdf509dc"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "rand_core"
-version = "0.6.3"
+version = "0.6.4"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "d34f1408f55294453790c48b2f1ebbb1c5b4b7563eb1f418bcfcfdbb06ebb4e7"
+checksum = "ec0be4795e2f6a28069bec0b5ff3e2ac9bafc99e6a9a7dc3547996c5c816922c"
 dependencies = [
  "getrandom",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "raw-cpuid"
-version = "10.5.0"
+version = "10.6.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "6aa2540135b6a94f74c7bc90ad4b794f822026a894f3d7bcd185c100d13d4ad6"
+checksum = "a6823ea29436221176fe662da99998ad3b4db2c7f31e7b6f5fe43adccd6320bb"
 dependencies = [
  "bitflags",
 ]
@@ -1323,7 +1332,7 @@ checksum = "a3f87b73ce11b1619a3c6332f45341e0047173771e8b8b73f87bfeefb7b56244"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "registry-backup"
-version = "0.4.0-rc.2"
+version = "0.4.0-rc.3"
 dependencies = [
  "chrono",
  "clap",
@@ -1521,10 +1530,10 @@ dependencies = [
 ]
 
 [[package]]
-name = "sha-1"
-version = "0.10.0"
+name = "sha1"
+version = "0.10.4"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "028f48d513f9678cda28f6e4064755b3fbb2af6acd672f2c209b62323f7aea0f"
+checksum = "006769ba83e921b3085caa8334186b00cf92b4cb1a6cf4632fbccc8eff5c7549"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
  "cpufeatures",
@@ -1655,18 +1664,18 @@ checksum = "b1141d4d61095b28419e22cb0bbf02755f5e54e0526f97f1e3d1d160e60885fb"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "thiserror"
-version = "1.0.33"
+version = "1.0.35"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "3d0a539a918745651435ac7db7a18761589a94cd7e94cd56999f828bf73c8a57"
+checksum = "c53f98874615aea268107765aa1ed8f6116782501d18e53d08b471733bea6c85"
 dependencies = [
  "thiserror-impl",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "thiserror-impl"
-version = "1.0.33"
+version = "1.0.35"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "c251e90f708e16c49a16f4917dc2131e75222b72edfa9cb7f7c58ae56aae0c09"
+checksum = "f8b463991b4eab2d801e724172285ec4195c650e8ec79b149e6c2a8e6dd3f783"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
@@ -1727,9 +1736,9 @@ checksum = "cda74da7e1a664f795bb1f8a87ec406fb89a02522cf6e50620d016add6dbbf5c"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "tokio"
-version = "1.21.0"
+version = "1.21.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "89797afd69d206ccd11fb0ea560a44bbb87731d020670e79416d442919257d42"
+checksum = "0020c875007ad96677dcc890298f4b942882c5d4eb7cc8f439fc3bf813dc9c95"
 dependencies = [
  "autocfg",
  "bytes",
@@ -1770,9 +1779,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "tokio-util"
-version = "0.7.3"
+version = "0.7.4"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "cc463cd8deddc3770d20f9852143d50bf6094e640b485cb2e189a2099085ff45"
+checksum = "0bb2e075f03b3d66d8d8785356224ba688d2906a371015e225beeb65ca92c740"
 dependencies = [
  "bytes",
  "futures-core",
@@ -1886,7 +1895,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "futures-channel",
  "futures-io",
  "futures-util",
- "idna",
+ "idna 0.2.3",
  "ipnet",
  "lazy_static",
  "log",
@@ -2012,9 +2021,9 @@ checksum = "099b7128301d285f79ddd55b9a83d5e6b9e97c92e0ea0daebee7263e932de992"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "unicode-ident"
-version = "1.0.3"
+version = "1.0.4"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "c4f5b37a154999a8f3f98cc23a628d850e154479cd94decf3414696e12e31aaf"
+checksum = "dcc811dc4066ac62f84f11307873c4850cb653bfa9b1719cee2bd2204a4bc5dd"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "unicode-normalization"
@@ -2033,13 +2042,12 @@ checksum = "a156c684c91ea7d62626509bce3cb4e1d9ed5c4d978f7b4352658f96a4c26b4a"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "url"
-version = "2.2.2"
+version = "2.3.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "a507c383b2d33b5fc35d1861e77e6b383d158b2da5e14fe51b83dfedf6fd578c"
+checksum = "0d68c799ae75762b8c3fe375feb6600ef5602c883c5d21eb51c09f22b83c4643"
 dependencies = [
  "form_urlencoded",
- "idna",
- "matches",
+ "idna 0.3.0",
  "percent-encoding",
 ]
 
@@ -2090,9 +2098,9 @@ checksum = "9c8d87e72b64a3b4db28d11ce29237c246188f4f51057d65a7eab63b7987e423"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "wasm-bindgen"
-version = "0.2.82"
+version = "0.2.83"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "fc7652e3f6c4706c8d9cd54832c4a4ccb9b5336e2c3bd154d5cccfbf1c1f5f7d"
+checksum = "eaf9f5aceeec8be17c128b2e93e031fb8a4d469bb9c4ae2d7dc1888b26887268"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
  "wasm-bindgen-macro",
@@ -2100,9 +2108,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "wasm-bindgen-backend"
-version = "0.2.82"
+version = "0.2.83"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "662cd44805586bd52971b9586b1df85cdbbd9112e4ef4d8f41559c334dc6ac3f"
+checksum = "4c8ffb332579b0557b52d268b91feab8df3615f265d5270fec2a8c95b17c1142"
 dependencies = [
  "bumpalo",
  "log",
@@ -2115,9 +2123,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "wasm-bindgen-futures"
-version = "0.4.32"
+version = "0.4.33"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "fa76fb221a1f8acddf5b54ace85912606980ad661ac7a503b4570ffd3a624dad"
+checksum = "23639446165ca5a5de86ae1d8896b737ae80319560fbaa4c2887b7da6e7ebd7d"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
  "js-sys",
@@ -2127,9 +2135,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "wasm-bindgen-macro"
-version = "0.2.82"
+version = "0.2.83"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "b260f13d3012071dfb1512849c033b1925038373aea48ced3012c09df952c602"
+checksum = "052be0f94026e6cbc75cdefc9bae13fd6052cdcaf532fa6c45e7ae33a1e6c810"
 dependencies = [
  "quote",
  "wasm-bindgen-macro-support",
@@ -2137,9 +2145,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "wasm-bindgen-macro-support"
-version = "0.2.82"
+version = "0.2.83"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "5be8e654bdd9b79216c2929ab90721aa82faf65c48cdf08bdc4e7f51357b80da"
+checksum = "07bc0c051dc5f23e307b13285f9d75df86bfdf816c5721e573dec1f9b8aa193c"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
@@ -2150,15 +2158,15 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "wasm-bindgen-shared"
-version = "0.2.82"
+version = "0.2.83"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "6598dd0bd3c7d51095ff6531a5b23e02acdc81804e30d8f07afb77b7215a140a"
+checksum = "1c38c045535d93ec4f0b4defec448e4291638ee608530863b1e2ba115d4fff7f"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "web-sys"
-version = "0.3.59"
+version = "0.3.60"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "ed055ab27f941423197eb86b2035720b1a3ce40504df082cac2ecc6ed73335a1"
+checksum = "bcda906d8be16e728fd5adc5b729afad4e444e106ab28cd1c7256e54fa61510f"
 dependencies = [
  "js-sys",
  "wasm-bindgen",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 74c087e..e670426 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 [package]
 name = "registry-backup"
 authors = ["Jonathan Strong <jstrong@shipyard.rs>"]
-version = "0.4.0-rc.2"
+version = "0.4.0-rc.3"
 edition = "2021"
 publish = ["shipyard-rs-public"]
 readme = "README.md"
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 2eae4c9..ed5857a 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -113,26 +113,24 @@ pub struct OutputConfig {
     #[clap(short = 'o', long = "output-path", default_value = DEFAULT_OUTPUT_PATH)]
     #[serde(default = "default_output_path")]
     pub path: PathBuf,
-
     /// Download files when if .crate file already exists in output dir for a
     /// given crate version, and overwrite the existing file with the new one.
     /// Default behavior is to skip downloading if .crate file already exists.
     #[serde(default)]
     #[clap(long)]
     pub overwrite_existing: bool,
-    // /// What format to use for the output filenames. Works the same as
-    // /// Cargo's registry syntax for the "dl" key in the `config.json`
-    // /// file in a reigstry index. See [Cargo
-    // /// docs](https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/registries.html#index-format)
-    // /// for additional details. Not specifying this field is equivalent
-    // /// to specifying "/{crate}/{version}/download", the default.
-    // #[clap(long = "output-format")]
-    // pub format: Option<String>,
-    // /// Use whatever output filename syntax is specified in the target
-    // /// registry's `config.json` file. Conflicts with --output-format.
-    // #[serde(default)]
-    // #[clap(long)]
-    // pub mirror_registry_format: bool,
+    /// What format to use for the output filenames. Works the same as
+    /// Cargo's registry syntax for the "dl" key in the `config.json`
+    /// file in a reigstry index. See [Cargo
+    /// docs](https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/registries.html#index-format)
+    /// for additional details. Not specifying this field is equivalent
+    /// to specifying "{crate}/{version}/download", the default.
+    ///
+    /// The resulting path specified by the format should be relative;
+    /// it will be joined with the --output-path. (i.e. it should not start
+    /// with "/".)
+    #[clap(long = "output-format")]
+    pub format: Option<String>,
 }
 
 #[derive(Deserialize, Parser)]
@@ -598,6 +596,15 @@ async fn download_versions(
 
     let rate_limit = RateLimiter::direct(Quota::per_second(config.http.requests_per_second));
 
+    // piggy back on Registry Config's url template functionality
+    // to render the relative output path
+    let output_config = RegistryConfig {
+        dl: config.output.format.as_deref().unwrap_or("").to_string(),
+        api: String::new(),
+        allowed_registries: vec![],
+        auth_required: None,
+    };
+
     let http_client = reqwest::Client::builder()
         .user_agent(&config.http.user_agent)
         .build()?;
@@ -612,17 +619,17 @@ async fn download_versions(
     let inner_stream = futures::stream::iter(versions.into_iter().map(|vers| {
         let req_begin = Instant::now();
         let http_client = http_client.clone();
+        let output_config = &output_config;
 
         async move {
-            // TODO actually parse and use the format
             let url =
                 url::Url::parse(&registry_config.get_dl_url(&vers.name, &vers.vers, &vers.cksum))?;
-            //let output_path = config.output.path.join(format!("{}/{}/download", vers.name, vers.vers));
-            assert!(
-                url.path().starts_with('/'),
-                "sanity check in case there are unforseen exceptions to this"
-            );
-            let output_path = config.output.path.join(&url.path()[1..]);
+
+            let output_path = config.output.path.join(output_config.get_dl_url(
+                &vers.name,
+                &vers.vers,
+                &vers.cksum,
+            ));
 
             if config.dry_run {
                 debug!(%url, "skipping download (--dry-run mode)");
@@ -786,4 +793,19 @@ mod tests {
             "iM/-1/iM-14yo-LoL__im/-1/im-14yo-lol__c5b6fc73__iM-14yo-LoL__0.69.42-rc.123.tar.gz",
         );
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn sanity_check_url_template_used_for_output_path() {
+        let config = RegistryConfig {
+            dl: "{crate}/{sha256-checksum}".to_string(),
+            api: String::new(),
+            allowed_registries: vec![],
+            auth_required: Some(true),
+        };
+
+        let output_path =
+            Path::new("output").join(config.get_dl_url("lazy-static", "1.0.0", "x7b2z899"));
+
+        assert_eq!(output_path, Path::new("output/lazy-static/x7b2z899"),);
+    }
 }